Re: Tank too hot

[Wright Huntley <jwwiii at pacbell_net>]

Tank heat is a chronic problem in CA and many other warmer summer 
locations. Many equatorial rainforest fishes live at high enough 
altitude that they just will not breed in summer, here. Try getting eggs 
from an *Aphyosemion jorgenscheeli* at anything above 78F, for example. 
Likewise, Madagascar Lace plants have been out of the question, for me 
-- difficult even when I was in much-cooler Fremont.

After contemplating the various alternatives, I would like to try 
something has never been discussed here, AFAIK.

Dig a hole 3' deep anywhere in the US, and the ground at the bottom will 
be cold! I think near-surface underground temperatures average somewhere 
around 55F or so, and it is not very different from FL to ME, once you 
are several feet down (and not in a geothermal zone). [Do wine caves 
ring a bell?]

My thought is to bury a loose coil of drip-irrigation 1/2" line, deep 
enough that water slowly flowing through it would be chilled down into 
the 60s. For an operating cost of one powerhead, one could have a source 
of cooled tank or reservoir water constantly available. No?

I'd love it if someone can shoot holes in this idea *before* I dig a big 
hole in the yard in this Modesto heat. :-) [Predicted to hit 100, today, 
but so far only 95F.]

Wright

-- 
Wright Huntley -- 290 571-0444 -- 731 Loletta Ave, Modesto CA 95351

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